The PAA concluded its regular season last weekend at Toledo Bend in Texas. Two days of nasty weather gave way to good fishing conditions the final day, and Rick Morris used the weather change to mount a charge from deep in the field.
He went deep and whacked a 10-pounder the final day en route to a 25-pound-plus bag. He moved up from 18th to win the event by a less than a pound
over runner-up Andy Montgomery.
"The win gives me a lot of confidence," Morris said, who's fishing today's Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC) at Conroe. "I've finally got a trophy that says 'champion.' It just shows I can do it. I needed to get over that hump.
"The 10-pounder was definitely one of the keys, but I also caught a really good limit to go with it with – four fish that went 15 pounds. It was just a great day. I executed perfectly and had the right bites fishing all alone out deep."
Here's a look at how he did it.
Practice
Morris arrived at Toledo Bend early, although not by design. He got the dates for the tournament wrong and checked into his hotel a full week before he should have.
He didn't want to make the long drive back to Virginia, so he stayed and practiced.
"The weather was 95 degrees every day and I spent a lot of my time offshore," he said. "I was trying to find offshore bites, and I found a couple 4-pounders and a 5, and some keepers, but for a whole week out there, that's all I had.
"I found three or four little spots that I knew were holding fish."
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 15.18
> Day 2: 5, 8.69
> Day 3: 5, 25.29
> Total = 15, 50.16
When gametime arrived, the weather turned nasty. Morris needed points to make the TTBC, so he picked up a flipping stick and fished hydrilla for the first 2 days. His 15-pound opening-day bag included a 7-pounder, which took big-fish honors, and he ended the day in 5th place.
Nasty weather continued the second day and he struggled with the flipping bite, but did get six or seven bites and came in with 8 1/2 pounds, which dropped him to 18th. But he knew then he'd already qualified for the TTBC, so he was free to fish how he liked the final day.
Morris flipped the first 2 days to ensure a berth in the championship.
"On the last day, I went out to deep water and caught a few small bass on my first two stops," he said. "Then I hit a backup spot and caught a 3-pounder, and at 10:00 I caught that 10-pounder. Right then and there I knew I'd stay deep all day. I calmed down a little and kept fishing that 3/4-ounce War Eagle football-head.
"I finally caught a limit of 3-pounders, then eventually culled up and I knew I was getting close. I knew I needed over 25 pounds. Then I hit a 5-pounder to give me 24-something, which still wasn't enough. But I moved real quick in the last 10 minutes, caught a 4 and culled up about a half-pound. I still didn't think it was enough, but it was."
Winning Pattern Notes
Morris noted that a lot of his competitors were fishing points of the grass, but he was flipping in 14 to 15 feet of water along the edges – the little clumps of submerged hydrilla to the outside.
When offshore, he targeted ledges. "They were just ledges and drops in the middle of the lake," he said. "I treated it like Kentucky Lake. I had about 10 sweet spots, but I only used three or four of them and rotated. Every now and then fish would move up in a sweet spot. I'd sit the boat in 20 or 25 feet and throw up into 15. It was all because I did the homework, and because I had the guts to go out there and do it the final day."
Winning Gear Notes
> Flipping gear: 7'11" heavy-action RPM Custom Rods Okeechobee Flipping/Pitching Special rod, Pflueger President casting reel, 65-pound braided line, 1-ounce tungsten Prowler weight, 7/0 Gamakatsu extra-wide-gap hook, Zoom Brush Hog (watermelon/candy).
> Deep gear: 7'6" medium-heavy RPM Flipping/Pitching Special rod, same reel, 20-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce War Eagle football-head jig (green-pumpkin), unnamed craw trailer (green-pumpkin).
The Bottom Line
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
Final Standings
> Field = 108 boats
1. Rick Morris -- 5, 15.18 -- 5, 9.69 -- 5, 25.29 -- 50.16
2. Andy Montgomery -- 5, 16.07 -- 5, 17.51 -- 5, 16.05 -- 49.63
3. Bryan Thrift -- 5, 16.54 -- 5, 16.87 -- 5, 14.09 -- 47.50
4. Charles Bebber -- 5, 15.10 -- 5, 16.24 -- 5, 14.14 -- 45.48
5. Mike Mcclelland -- 5, 17.21 -- 5, 14.54 -- 5, 13.61 -- 45.36
6. Chris Daves -- 5, 10.52 -- 5, 15.46 -- 5, 16.83 -- 42.81
7. Todd Faircloth -- 5, 12.49 -- 5, 16.09 -- 5, 13.85 -- 42.43
8. Mike Wurm -- 5, 13.72 -- 5, 13.88 -- 5, 14.68 -- 42.28
9. Tim Horton -- 5, 15.08 -- 5, 14.04 -- 5, 13.08 -- 42.20
10. Craig Dowling -- 3, 7.71 -- 5, 15.23 -- 5, 17.42 -- 40.36
11. Keith Caka -- 4, 11.83 -- 5, 12.71 -- 5, 15.42 -- 39.96
12. Steve Kennedy -- 5, 13.58 -- 5, 11.87 -- 5, 14.33 -- 39.78
13. Kurt Dove -- 5, 12.93 -- 5, 12.17 -- 5, 12.63 -- 37.73
14. Takahiro Omori -- 5, 10.48 -- 5, 12.61 -- 5, 14.44 -- 37.53
15. Todd Auten -- 5, 15.65 -- 5, 13.61 -- 5, 7.69 -- 36.95
16. Shonn Blassingame -- 5, 13.59 -- 5, 11.51 -- 5, 11.63 -- 36.73
17. Brian Penso -- 5, 13.61 -- 5, 12.77 -- 5, 10.15 -- 36.53
18. Keith Combs -- 5, 10.64 -- 5, 13.66 -- 5, 12.12 -- 36.42
19. Sam Newby -- 5, 15.05 -- 5, 10.50 -- 5, 10.65 -- 36.20
20. Bobby Lane -- 5, 9.49 -- 5, 15.36 -- 5, 11.32 -- 36.17
21. Aaron Martens -- 5, 9.81 -- 5, 11.56 -- 5, 14.24 -- 35.61
22. Greg Hackney -- 5, 14.96 -- 5, 11.88 -- 4, 8.69 -- 35.53
23. Sean Hoernke -- 5, 12.40 -- 5, 9.73 -- 5, 12.13 -- 34.26
24. Matt Reed -- 4, 8.27 -- 5, 13.99 -- 5, 11.74 -- 34.00
25. Tim Reneau -- 5, 9.25 -- 5, 13.76 -- 5, 10.39 -- 33.40
26. Tommy Martin -- 5, 10.29 -- 5, 15.92 -- 4, 6.77 -- 32.98
27. Brian Snowden -- 3, 7.79 -- 5, 14.20 -- 5, 10.99 -- 32.98
28. Stacey King -- 5, 13.28 -- 5, 9.86 -- 5, 9.59 -- 32.73
29. Jason Reyes -- 5, 14.50 -- 5, 8.42 -- 5, 9.36 -- 32.28
30. Stephen Johnston -- 5, 11.16 -- 4, 10.61 -- 5, 10.43 -- 32.20
31. Glenn Browne -- 5, 12.59 -- 5, 8.79 -- 5, 9.76 -- 31.14
32. Dave Mansue -- 3, 10.05 -- 5, 13.37 -- 3, 6.13 -- 29.55
33. Sandy Melvin -- 5, 11.92 -- 5, 10.46 -- 3, 6.15 -- 28.53
34. Arnie Lane -- 4, 8.79 -- 5, 16.39 -- 2, 3.00 -- 28.18
35. Mike Hawkes -- 5, 13.26 -- 5, 10.17 -- 2, 4.22 -- 27.65
36. Shinchi Fukae -- 3, 6.84 -- 5, 15.01 -- 21.85
37. Kyle Mabrey -- 4, 6.89 -- 5, 13.72 -- 20.61
38. Kevin Lasyone -- 5, 9.67 -- 5, 10.89 -- 20.56
39. Jeff Kriet -- 4, 9.38 -- 4, 11.01 -- 20.39
40. Chad Morgenthaler -- 5, 10.83 -- 5, 9.51 -- 20.34
41. Dave Smith -- 5, 10.39 -- 5, 9.87 -- 20.26
42. Russ Lane -- 4, 7.75 -- 5, 12.41 -- 20.16
43. Guy Eaker -- 5, 9.00 -- 5, 10.90 -- 19.90
44. Matt Ogrodowicz -- 5, 9.25 -- 5, 10.32 -- 19.57
45. Paul Elias -- 5, 9.52 -- 5, 10.00 -- 19.52
46. Corey Waldrop -- 4, 9.90 -- 5, 9.23 -- 19.13
47. Shaw Grigsby -- 5, 7.86 -- 5, 11.17 -- 19.03
48. Duke Jenkel -- 5, 12.97 -- 3, 6.00 -- 18.97
49. Jason Christie -- 2, 4.40 -- 5, 14.56 -- 18.96
50. Trevor Knight -- 1, 1.83 -- 5, 17.12 -- 18.95
51. Tommy Biffle -- 5, 9.26 -- 5, 9.46 -- 18.72
52. Chris Baumgardner -- 5, 9.85 -- 5, 8.73 -- 18.58
53. Jeremy Guidry -- 4, 7.73 -- 5, 10.54 -- 18.27
54. Matt Herren -- 5, 10.61 -- 4, 7.52 -- 18.13
55. Zell Rowland -- 3, 7.12 -- 5, 10.79 -- 17.91
56. Trea Luedke -- 5, 8.42 -- 5, 9.40 -- 17.82
57. Jt Kenney -- 2, 4.61 -- 5, 13.18 -- 17.79
58. Jeff Cloud -- 3, 6.64 -- 5, 10.98 -- 17.62
59. Jeff Connella -- 1, 3.10 -- 5, 14.51 -- 17.61
60. Edwin Evers -- 5, 10.92 -- 3, 6.44 -- 17.36
61. John Crews -- 2, 3.38 -- 5, 13.49 -- 16.87
62. Patrick Pierce -- 3, 6.39 -- 4, 10.42 -- 16.81
63. Andy -- Gaia 1 -- 3.09 -- 5, 13.70 -- 16.79
64. Chris Elliott -- 5, 8.55 -- 4, 7.87 -- 16.42
65. Anthony Gagliardi -- 5, 10.86 -- 3, 5.54 -- 16.40
66. Boyd Duckett -- 2, 3.43 -- 5, 12.87 -- 16.30
67. Cody Bird -- 3, 5.35 -- 5, 10.60 -- 15.95
68. Aaron Lee Jakub -- 2, 3.38 -- 4, 12.31 -- 15.69
69. Russell Cecil -- 3, 6.45 -- 3, 9.01 -- 15.46
70. Fred Contaoi -- 3, 4.65 -- 3, 10.69 -- 15.34
71. Tim Sisk -- 3, 7.17 -- 5, 8.16 -- 15.33
72. Elton Luce -- 2, 5.13 -- 5, 10.18 -- 15.31
73. Joe Thomas -- 2, 5.32 -- 3, 9.81 -- 15.13
74. Ben Matsubu -- 5, 9.69 -- 3, 5.00 -- 14.69
75. Lance Vick -- 5, 12.95 -- 1, 1.73 -- 14.68
76. Gordon Phillips -- 4, 9.54 -- 2, 4.97 -- 14.51
77. Brad Hallman -- 1, 1.82 -- 5, 12.67 -- 14.49
78. Pete Ponds -- 2, 5.25 -- 5, 8.79 -- 14.04
79. James Niggemeyer -- 3, 8.76 -- 3, 5.23 -- 13.99
80. Jami Fralick -- 1, 1.71 -- 5, 12.23 -- 13.94
81. Ray Brazier -- 2, 4.39 -- 4, 8.76 -- 13.15
82. Dalton Bobo -- 5, 9.31 -- 2, 3.05 -- 12.36
83. Tony Chachere. 0.00 -- 5, 11.89 -- 11.89
84. Gene Ellison -- 5, 8.64 -- 2, 2.83 -- 11.47
85. Harold Allen -- 5, 11.14 -- 0.00 -- 11.14
86. Brent Crow -- 5, 9.61 -- 0.00 -- 9.61
87. Sam Greer -- 4, 6.77 -- 1, 2.70 -- 9.47
88. Charlie Ingram -- 2, 4.19 -- 3, 4.27 -- 8.46
89. Justin Rackley -- 2, 3.72 -- 3, 4.56 -- 8.28
90. Kelly Jordon -- 1, 1.94 -- 4, 6.06 -- 8.00
91. Chris Wilkerson -- 2, 4.22 -- 2, 3.59 -- 7.81
92. Ronnie Wagner -- 3, 6.13 -- 1, 1.40 -- 7.53
93. Terry Butcher -- 1, 1.81 -- 3, 5.39 -- 7.20
94. Jason Seaton -- 1, 3.35 -- 2, 3.60 -- 6.95
95. Russ Moran -- 2, 6.72. 0.00 -- 6.72
96. Joe Gerard -- 1, 4.08 -- 1, 2.47 -- 6.55
97. Scott Browning -- 2, 4.41. 0.00 -- 4.41
98. Jeff Jordan -- 2, 3.35. 0.00 -- 3.35
99. Lonnie O'Neal -- 2, 3.18. 0.00 -- 3.18
100. Ricky Guy -- 1, 2.06. 0.00 -- 2.06
101. Charles Ely -- 1, 2.05 -- 0, 0.00 -- 2.05
102. Eddy Thomas -- 1, 1.99 -- 0, 0.00 -- 1.99
103. Johnny Grice -- 1, 1.90. 0.00 -- 1.90
104. Brian Kanke -- 1, 1.89. 0.00 -- 1.89
105. Jonathan Black -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
106. Patrick Amick -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
107. Gary Riffle -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
108. Bert Thompson -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
